But it’s perfectly okay for the offended to repeatedly criticize and give space to angry rhetoric.

Are we so fragile that we break under crticism, or can we bend like bamboo, strong, and hear it?

Does not art invite criticism? Food? Music? Life? Love? Do we not learn from criticism, whether it’s right or wrong?

Also, has this former friend and his troops not noticed my comments stating that I, for what little it’s worth, don’t fully agree with the criticism, and admire the art? elephant is not an entity. It’s a community. We’re after truth, not PR, promotion, or positivity.

What the world needs now is for us to relax enough to allow our hearts to hold, and let go of, and breathe through, good or bad, happy or sad—so that we might step through the wall of flame into service.

Your FB says something about chili, and that sucks that it's being contaminated, not only that you don't get to eat it, but that a company is using harmful agents. But hate and rancor? Man, I hope things look up. You seem a strong, and sensitive individual. I'm sure you'll see to it that brighter futures (presents!) are in order.